Green Thumb
by HecateA
Summary: Mr D was probably hoping for Travis' punishment not to be as enjoyable. Oneshot. Written for the PJO Ship Weeks.


**So out of the four people who told me what to write for the Free Week, three of them said Travis and Katie. So here we go. I kept it fluffy and lighthearted for you guys.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or settings portrayed below.**

* * *

**Green Thumb**

* * *

Okay, so in retrospect maybe Travis _shouldn't _have peed in the Big House's lemonade pitcher.

What could he say? He'd been angry.

He just hoped that Mr D had been the first one to take a sip and not Chiron, because Chiron was cool and really this entire thing had been directed at the lazy ass god who couldn't even remember that his name wasn't Trevor, Thomas, Toby or Terence.

Anyways, the real reason he regretted it was because now he was a shrub. Yes, Mr D had transformed Travis into some kind of dangling plant, which made his head spin on top of sucking. He couldn't move, couldn't talk. It was like his brain was working but he didn't have a body to execute stuff with. Travis didn't even know how he was seeing the things around him, but apparently after Mr D's original bitch fit, Chiron had moved Travis to the living room which was pretty densely planted too. Travis wondered if these other ferns were some of his siblings he'd yet to meet. Luke _had _warned him a week ago that he should watch out for the shrubbery…

"I'm surprised it took you more than a week to get turned," Chiron said putting Travis down on a table.

Mr D hadn't even had the manners to put Travis in a pot. He was just a dangling bunch of roots and leaves. "Don't worry, this shouldn't last long. The longest he's ever turned anyone into a plant for was three years, but you should automatically transform back within a week."

Thank gods his mother hadn't had the power to do this when he was a child.

A few hours later a girl walked in with Chiron trotting at her side.

"The Chinese evergreen still isn't looking good," he said. "The arrowhead vine is doing better, but you should probably check to make sure that the fungus is gone. Also we have a few new plants to pot. I'll leave them up to your excellent green thumb."

"Thank you," she smiled. She had one of those huge smiles that was so bright and happy and genuine that the rest of her face didn't really matter. Travis did register some pretty light green eyes and soft features, though. Her hair was brown and packed up behind her head clumsily. Gardening gloves dangled from the back pocket of her jeans and her clothes were well-worn and covered in grass and dirt stains.

Travis may not have been at camp for a super long time, but he was pretty sure that this was a child of Demeter or whoever the nature goddess was.

"If you need anything, I'll be on a porch," Chiron said.

"Good luck at Pinochle," she said.

Chiron smiled. "Thank you, Katherine."

Katherine, Katherine, Katherine… he'd been on Cabin 4's team for Capture-the-Flag but he didn't remember a Katherine. There was a Kathie or something. Katie? Maybe. He didn't know.

She left the room with a watering can and came in walking much more slowly, her eyes very concentrated on not losing any water. She made her rounds, watering the plants and checking up on them. A few got fertilizer. She moved some of them closer or farther from the window and the sunlight.

Travis' mother was a foster home for abandoned and abused birds (out of all hobbies), and so Travis was used to hearing her walk around the apartment talking to cockatoos and parrots and whatever else they had around, but Travis had _never _heard anyone do the same with plants. But Katie did. She hummed and sang under her breath, she whistled, she informed the plants of how in bloom they were and whatever else gardening crap Travis couldn't understand, she read off the little tags spewing out their species, genus and Latin name… It was weird and Travis may have been tempted to make a run for it, but it actually had an effect on the greenery. Plants stood up straighter, vines shot out a couple of inches, flowers became brighter, leaves became greener… It was crazy.

Then she got to Travis and _that _was a weird experience and a half.

For starters, the nerve endings of a _plant _were very different than a human. Getting handled as a plant was super different. He felt like he was being flopped and thrown around, even though Katie was being gentle and soft. But she clearly did _not _know that he was human.

Katie was singing a soft song about the sun coming. Travis thought it might be a Beatle's song. She had a pretty great voice.

She gently brushed Travis' roots free with her fingers. Travis realised that she wasn't wearing the gloves, those were in her back pocket still. She filled up a pot with soil before putting Travis in. She filled the pot with more soil, gently patting it down once she was done. She even watered him before hanging him from a hook in the ceiling, which was a whole new world of plant-level weirdness. For starters, his vines were dangling. Already Travis felt like he had about five new limbs, and the fact that they were all plumeting towards the ground didn't help at all. His thought process became dizzy, as if all the blood was rushing to his head. He felt floppy and inflexible and just all-around not really good about the whole thing.

At least Katie was being nice about it and she was singing one of Travis' favourite songs, "Strawberry Fields Forever", under her breath.

That still didn't make Travis feel like being a plant would be any fun at all.

* * *

_Sun, sun, sun, sun_

_ WATER_

_ Sun, sun, sun, sun_

_ WATER_

_ Sun, sun, sun, sun_

It was like Travis was forgetting how to think humanely. Every now and then he managed to make that assessment and freak out a little bit. He was going to get turned back human soon right? He wouldn't just keep slowly morphing into a plant with plant feelings and plant thoughts and plant needs? Photosynthesis was great and all, but Travis needed a _burger. _

Then Katie would come by and water all the plants and run her fingers against his leaves.

"You're getting greener," Katie said. "Such a nice plant. And you've grown so much… wow… it's nice and hot outside, just like you like."

It made him feel better that someone was talking to him. More… human?

Whatever, thank gods Katie was there, that was all.

* * *

Katie was doing her rounds with the watering pot, as per usual. She was watering the African violets on the windowsill and singing a song about one Mrs. Robinson.

It made Travis smile as much and as brightly as a plant could. His mother used to sing that song all the time around the apartment and it just made Travis think of early Sunday mornings, probably Sunday mornings involving pancakes and classic cartoons and his mother dancing around the apartment in soft pajamas.

The Saturday morning song made him think of his mom's homemade pancakes which made him hungry because _gods _did he ever want solid food.

Katie watered him and it helped a bit. She also rubbed her finger against his leaves which, to the other plants, made them greener and perkier, but to Travis felt like a hug.

Which also felt like Saturday morning.

* * *

So not only did Katie water Travis, but she was also the first girl he'd ever met who could sing the entirety of Bohemian Rhapsody on her own without catching a breath.

She was his favourite.

* * *

Out of nowhere the Big House got enormously noisy. There was chattering and worrying and some sniffling like a kid was trying not to cry. This nearly scared Travis out of his mind because Chiron and Mr D never made any noise except for some boring adulty battering in the evenings.

All of a sudden seven very small and extremely agitated children burst into the room, all tugging at Katie's shirt or holding onto her legs or wailing. She was holding something in her cupped hands.

"Okay, Lily, you're going to have to take that towel that you see and spread it out on the table- no, not that one- Rowan can you help her find it? Oh, thank you buddy."

Katie put down what she was holding on the towel and Travis saw what it was. A baby bird.

"We have to name it, we have to name it!" One kid shrieked.

"No we can't it's going to die! You're not supposed to name things that are going to die! It's like chickens at the farm!"

"Oh, no, no, no, Reed, we don't _know _that the bird's going to die. But Dahlia, how about we do some other stuff before we name it okay? Okay. Can someone grab another towel for me? Thanks Marigold. Okay, so now we're going to wrap the towel around him. That'll keep him safe and stop him from moving his wing too much. Perfect."

Another girl with long blond curls came back in. "Silena found a shoe box we could use!"

"Oh, thanks Miranda," Katie said. "Okay, Peony, you can do this part with West. You can take another towel and put it at the bottom of the shoe box, to cover it. Holly and Ash, why don't you go help Miranda find and fill a hot water bottle? Great. Oh, well done West, thank you Peony... We can just put the baby bird in the box now... Now Leif and Jasmine, you two should go find Chiron and tell him that Katie needs to see him about a chickadee... Has everybody helped? Alright. Now that we feel better about the baby bird we found, how about you all go back to the climbing wall?"

The kids nodded.

"Is the bird going to be okay Katie?" One of the kids asked.

"I'm not sure," Katie said. "But everyone's worked hard, and we're keeping him in a warm, safe room next to all these plants and nature. Now we just need to hope that nature's going to help him, but remember that nature can't take care of everyone."

"I'm going to give mommy _lots _of grill cheese tonight!" One of the younger kids declared.

"And sissy too!"

"Mommy might like that, but you probably shouldn't bother Persephone," Katie said. "You're all so sweet. Go back and have fun climbing, okay? I want to hear all about it tonight."

The kids nodded and Katie sent them off in pairs before turning her attention fully to the baby bird. Once Miranda got back she put the water bottle under the shoebox and then told Miranda to go escort the two kids back and man the cabin for a while. Eventually Chiron came in and Katie requested the Bird Emergency Kit that Cabin 4 apparently kept in his room because she needed antibiotics for the bird. Chiron nodded and walked off to get it. Katie rubbed her fingertips along the bird's belly, which Travis guessed was okay for children of Demeter to do. Whatever, he was amazed. Somehow Katie managed to handle a tiny distressed baby bird and a hoard of worried children with the nurturing touch and patience of Snow White or something.

Shit.

That was admirable.

* * *

He'd had a pretty good idea of what Katie's musical taste was by now. Lots of old songs, the classic ones that everybody could sing along to. Literally every single Beatles song that Travis knew. Some Red Hot Chili Peppers. Disney songs and lullabies that the younger kids in the Demeter cabin probably forced into her head. Some sappy pop songs that she'd probably picked up from the radio more than anything.

But he didn't know the best part yet.

_Beyoncé._

The girl liked Beyoncé.

"If you liked it should've put a ring on it…" Katie sang under her breath.

If plants could whine, Travis would.

He wanted to _dance. _

Not necessarily _with _Katie, but, you know, if she was dancing too Travis wouldn't object.

* * *

He saw Katie sniffling and he had no idea why. Some other daughter of Demeter was with her, maybe their counselor, and she was rubbing Katie's shoulder and telling her that her hair was cute and so were her sandals to make her feel better.

They watered Travis and the other plants, and they were about to leave but Katie said that she was going to re-pot a few plants even though that had all been done yesterday. Her sister tried to drag her out but Katie didn't want to go and finally she snaps "I just want to be alone!"

So her sister left, and Katie dusted off her gardening gloves before opening another bag of soil and then her shoulders dropped and she put it down. She didn't have the energy to do anything, she just crumpled and didn't want anybody there trying to cheer her up. She just wanted to _be _crumpled since usually she was always smiling and working and moving around. Travis didn't know how that affirmation came to mind, but it seemed legitimate.

A guy walked in.

"Katie," he said. Travis didn't know who this guy was, but he had huge ass scars jagging the back of his bald head.

She shot to her feet and picked up a watering can. "I'm watering Chiron's flowers, go away."

Travis felt insulted. He was _not _a flower.

"No you're not," he said. Katie turned her back to him and fixed her hair nervously.

"Whatever," she said. "I don't need a reason not to talk to you. Please go away."

"I'm not on Demeter Cabin territory, it's a free country," he said. "I'm allowed to be here."

"Go away or I'll get Chiron."

"And tell him what?"

"Everything," Katie said shooting this guy a look.

His shoulders slacked and he rubbed the back of his head.

"I said I'm sorry, baby," he said.

"I don't like it when you call me baby, my name's Katie," she said. "And I told you that I didn't care. Please go away and let me work."

He shook his head. "I made a mistake. I want to correct it."

"No, Derek, you made a series of mistakes," Katie said, still not looking him in the eyes, still speaking coolly and calmly like a robot. "And you've made a series of false apologies. Last night wasn't a mistake. You just grabbed me and pulled me out of my cabin because I wasn't listening to you. _In front of the kids. _You consciously did that, it wasn't an accident. And so I won't listen to your apology today. Please go away."

This Derek character's jaw tightened.

"Katie, I'll change."

"I'm proud of you for that," she said. "But I don't need a front row to it."

"Katie, I'll change _for you," _he said.

"You shouldn't have to change for me if we were really going anywhere with this," Katie said. "You'd already care about me. Please leave, I just want to water plants."

"Katie-" he said taking a step forwards.

Travis wished that he could get up from his spot and march towards Derek whats-his-face and tell him to back off. He wished that he could so much as wiggle his vines. He wished that he could do _something, _he didn't like what he was seeing.

"If you get closer to me I'm screaming and calling Chiron," Katie said.

"Gardner-"

"I have _bruises, _Derek. Bruises on my shoulder," Katie said. Her voice choked. "_Leave."_

He visualised human-form Travis clenching his fists and jaw and marching up to this son of a ya-know. If this Derek dude didn't back off from Katie in the next five seconds Travis was going to pull off a telepathic plant-human psychic attack until the guy's brain started bleeding.

Thankfully he did, and Katie curled up on the chair again, folding her gardening gloves across her knee. She dropped her head against her shoulder. Travis wished that she had another shoulder to do that on.

Her fingers twirled a vine.

"Rosalie says that children of Demeter nurture too much," she said to herself. Or maybe to the only other living being in the room, a plant. "That we don't know when to give up, when to cut bad strings and bad people out. I really thought that I wasn't being blind about this."

She curled up some more and Travis started thinking about something to say, but then he realised that

Katie had been speaking rhetorically

He was an inarticulate _plant. _

Then he started wondering when he'd started feeling so protective about this girl.

* * *

Katie had just finished watering some kind of hanging plant called a hoya and she was turning towards the wall of plants that Travis was on (well, not on, he _dangled, _but anyways). Her hair was swept over one shoulder and she had flowers poked through it, like a princess or something. She was wearing a camp t-shirt whose colour had been horribly washed out and jean shorts that nearly disappeared under its hem. Katie was built like a fairy, but the dirt stains on her knees and the grime under her nails confirmed that she was a busy, hard-working girl who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty either.

Anyways, Travis was plant-drooling when suddenly he fell from five feet high and hit the ground just as Katie screamed and jumped back and dropped her watering can.

Oh. So _now _Mr D's curse decided to evaporate itself?

Katie looked at him with wide-eyes.

"You're not a plant," she said like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Yeah," he said rubbing the back of his head, where he felt a huge bump coming along. "I guess this is as good of a time to introduce myself as any. Name's Travis."

"Katie," she said collecting her watering can.

"I know," Travis said.

She blushed wildly.

"Well that was a crappy first meeting," Travis said. "But congrats on your green thumb, there."

Katie flushed even more deeply, which Travis figured didn't really make anything better, but hey. At least he could talk to her now.

* * *

**Upcoming ship weeks**

**August**

**10 - 16 **- Free slash week (author's pick of a same-sex story)

**17 - 23 **- Free friendship week

**24 - 30 **- Chris and Clarisse

**31 - 06 **- Jason and Reyna

**September**

**07- 13 **- Jason and Piper

**14 -20 **- Frank and Hazel

**21 - 27 **- Calypso and Leo

**28 - October 4 **- Percy and Annabeth


End file.
